DURHAM, N.C. — Mike Krzyzewski came out of the postgame handshake line and headed straight to midcourt, where he took a few bows of gratitude to the Duke fans and pumped his fist in the air.

After a month away, Coach K wanted the Cameron Crazies to know how badly he missed them.

“You forget how lucky you are, until something is taken away from you,” Krzyzewski said. “I’m going to be 70 years old in a week or so, and I still get this?”

The 21st-ranked Blue Devils made Krzyzewski a winner in his return to the sideline after back surgery, beating Pittsburgh 72-64 on Saturday after Grayson Allen scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half.

Amile Jefferson added 15 points, freshman Jayson Tatum had 12 and Luke Kennard added 10 to help Duke (18-5, 6-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) win its third straight.

Michael Young scored 24 points and Jamel Artis added 17 for the Panthers (12-11, 1-9), who have lost eight straight and are the ACC’s last-place team.